An Evening in Paris

Everything is just perfect, the music, the director, the actors and the execution. The movie was shot in Paris and Shakti Samata captured Paris beautifully in this movie. Shammi Kapoor and Pran sahab gave amazing performance in this movie. Sharmila Tagore was good to watch but it was Shammi Kapoor who stole the show completely.

Music was another pillar of the film. Every song is classic. You keep humming the tracks An evening in paris.

Rich and pretty Deepa (Sharmila Tagore) comes to Paris to get away from failed relationships in India. She meets Sam (Shammi Kapoor), who falls in love with her and tries to win her affection. In the meantime, wicked gambler Shankar and his evil friends are scheming a way to get Deepa's money. What follows is kidnapping, impersonation, and dangerous adventures.

Filmed in four locations outside India, An Evening in Paris is lovely to watch. As for the plot-- the better part of the first hour of the is spent with Deepa in various locations, pretending to ignore Sam who is behind her, singing. All the excitement comes in the last 30 minutes or so, and the climax occurs too quickly. Kapoor is energetic and exuberant in every movement, which is entertaining. Tagore, who shocked the public by wearing a bikini, does a nice job of playing a double role. The music, and there is a lot of it, is catchy with a definite 60's feel to it. Tagore's costumes were exceptionally lovely. Overall, though the acting is great, the movie is somewhat dull up until the "thriller" aspect begins, and there just isn't enough suspense to make it better than okay.

I am watching this movie on Zee Classic and enjoying it, mostly because of the songs than anything else. My vote is 10/10 for music and 8/10 for the movie though I am a great fan of Shammi Kapoor. Besides, I always love to see old movies because there is lots of comic relief, in this movie it is by Rajendra Nath.

I also loved to see K.N.Singh and Pran Sahab. I had the privilege to meet Pran Sahab twice at his house in Bombay.

K.N.Singh had really a very unique style and it always interesting to see the same.

My most favourite songs from this movie are "Akele Akele Kaha Ja Rahe Ho", "Raat Ke Humsafar" and "An Evening in Paris"

I have seen far more Bollywood films than the average American, though I am far from an expert on these movies. For a change of pace, I thought I'd try watching an older Indian film--to see what they looked like decades ago (most Indian films available in the US are much more recent).

"An Evening in Paris" is about a couple of Indian ladies who, not surprisingly, go to Paris. However, one is very tired of men wanting her for her money, so she poses as the other's maid. Lots of kooky adventures, romance, a kidnapping and humor (such as it is) results. Other than the nice scenery, there really isn't a lot I liked about this film. The acting is just awful---very, very, very broad and the director seemed to encourage the actors to really ham it up for the audience. Subtle, this certainly isn't!! As a result, nothing about the film worked for me--it was so fake and plastic that I got VERY tired of the film and couldn't take it after a while. About the only thing I like about the film are a few of the musical numbers. While the sound quality of the songs is bad, they were catchy and easy to enjoy. I also liked some of the location shots during these songs--particularly the one in the Swiss Alps. Perhaps all this would play better for someone more familiar with and forgiving of the genre--I just thought it was rather dumb. Plus, how did so many Indians just happen to be in Paris?! I was there a few months back and didn't see Indians cavorting and singing anywhere in the city limits! Just my two cents worth.

An Evening in Paris (1967) : Brief Review -

A fairly entertaining romantic masala thriller set in beautiful locations in Paris. This is not a typical Shakti Samantha film, to be frank. Samantha's An Evening in Paris started off by giving me the vibes of Vincente Minnelli and Gene Kelly's Oscar-winning "American in Paris" (1951) in the beginning, and I really enjoyed it for a while. An Indian girl, Deepa, sets off to find the love of her life in Paris after failing to find a perfect lover in India. She is approached by Sam, who introduces himself as a French man, and they fall in love. This entire romantic chase, flirting, and proposal thing is very cute. They look even cuter when you hear the songs. Who could have imagined a Bollywood film having a title song on Paris' beauty, and who else can you think of but Shankar-Jaikishan? An Evening in Paris is such a beautiful song, and then there are "Akele Akele Kahan Ja Rahe" and "Aasman Se Aaya Farishta," which turn out to be perfect romantic songs. Shammi Kapoor showing off his thigh, hanging on the helicopter, and saying, "Kaho Pyar Hai Tumse" (Mohammed Rafi's voice), and then Sharmila Tagore in Bikini ditching him, "Jaa Jaa." So freaking adorable. What's more adorable is that he uses the same words at the end of the song, and she accepts the proposal, saying, "Haa, haa, Kaha naa." You expect the film to go on with a typical masala ending after this, but there comes Samantha's thriller factor. We have a twin formula-a little conry, but okay. The scripting seemed half-baked here. The character of Rupa falls in love with Sam, and we have no clue. She suddenly turns into a good woman, and we are clueless again because the writer did not provide her with enough evolution. Charming and handsome Shammi Kapoor and super-sexy Sharmila Tagore take you on a lavish, romantic, and glamorous ride in Paris, and that's all the film is about. Too gorgeous for the time, maybe?

RATING - 6/10*

By - #samthebestest.